Long, Cabramatta

“People were using and dealing everywhere.” That’s how Long remembers the 90s when his family first moved to Cabramatta. With little experience or interest in drugs, he resisted for nearly three years. But the pressure, and the opportunity, was always there.

Eventually it proved too great. “A lot was happening in my life at the time,” Long reflects. “Both my brothers were using, and many of my friends. It just seemed like the thing to do.” Within weeks Long was smoking heroin regularly. “The first time became a second time, then a third, then a fourth… it was very social, and so easy to get hold of.”

Harder times lay ahead. A stint in prison resulted in a forced detox, plunging Long into withdrawal for the first time in his life. Within months of release he was using again, injecting this time, and it was several more years before he seriously considered treatment. “Eventually, I just became tired of the lifestyle, chasing every day,” he says. Long’s initial choice was rehab. But he left on the first night.

“I was basically locked away. They gave me something, but didn’t prepare me. They didn’t care.” Undeterred, he went to a clinic the next day and began a replacement therapy which he’s still on today. Long knows treatment is a very personal thing, and success isn’t always easy. But with the support of his family and doctors, his current program is working for him. “I really like it. It’s brought stability back to my life.”